by Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

by Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

Apple's move to more seamlessly link its new iOS 7 mobile operating system into car systems will force automakers to decide whether the computer giant is a friend - or a threat to their in-car digital plans, analysts say.

The basic idea, as announced without much detail by Apple earlier this week, is to integrate a simplified, Siri-enabled application of iPhone functions into a car's dash screen and infotainment system. Apple named Honda, Mercedes, Nissan, Ferrari, Infiniti, Kia, Hyundai, Volvo, Acura, Jaguar and two General Motors brands, Chevrolet and Opel, as companies in discussions. But that leaves out other industry notables, such as Ford - which already has a linkup with Microsoft.

It's easy to see why automakers are dividing up. Deciding whether Apple helps or hurts depends on "what the automaker is trying to accomplish," says Thilo Koslowski, vice president of automotive for consulting group Gartner. "To be a leader or a follower."

On one hand, Apple's decision to provide a version of its latest operating system, iOS 7, for cars could create seamless continuity for iPhone users, basically making their car another Apple-powered platform for their mobile lives. Riding on the evolving operating system of the phone also helps solve the software part of bringing the latest infotainment to the dashboard on a budget.

On the other hand, though, Apple is well-known for cutting favorable deals for access to its technology. Drivers would be able to use its new operating system to access iTunes, the coming iRadio and other Apple services that previously might have been provided by other companies or the automakers themselves. Automakers have to decide whether they are surrendering control over access and content that they could sell.

At present, GM has a Siri-enabled Apple interface in its Chevrolet Spark mini-car and Sonic subcompact, both aimed at the youth market. To attract that market, they have relatively extensive infotainment features and even simplified navigation systems. But for more upscale car models, GM is developing its own system.

BMW is bringing an Apple interface to all its 2014 models, but it won't be as sophisticated as iOS 7 is expected to be.

Automakers have to decide how much control a system like Apple's would surrender. Right now, they control and approve apps for their car systems that they consider appropriate, profitable and, in some case, as furthering safety. But if Apple, or later Google or others, develop their own systems to integrate the car with applications driven by the drivers' phones, that control shifts to the phone provider.

BMW spokesman Dave Buchko says, for instance, that the automaker has "carefully limited" what drivers can do through the cars' infotainment systems in linking with Apple. He says engineers are looking at Apple's latest ideas and have not yet decided whether, or which ones, to incorporate.